私は犬を飼っていた。その子の名前はブルーベル。
お使いを頼めば、見事にそれをこなしてくれる。
ピンを拾いに二階に行かせれば、
石炭バケツにアゴを突っ込むし、
庭のセージを取りに行かせば、
転んだと、怒って騒ぎ出す。
ビールを注がせに地下室に送れば、
何にもなかったと、手ぶらで戻った。
I had a little dog and his name was Blue Bell,
I gave him some work, and he did it very well;
I sent him upstairs to pick up a pin,
He stepped in the coal-scuttle up to his chin;
I sent him to the garden to pick some sage,
He tumbled down and fell in a rage;
I sent him to the cellar to draw a pot of beer,
He came up again and said there was none there.
お使いを頼めば、見事にそれをこなしてくれる。
ピンを拾いに二階に行かせれば、
石炭バケツにアゴを突っ込むし、
庭のセージを取りに行かせば、
転んだと、怒って騒ぎ出す。
ビールを注がせに地下室に送れば、
何にもなかったと、手ぶらで戻った。
I had a little dog and his name was Blue Bell,
I gave him some work, and he did it very well;
I sent him upstairs to pick up a pin,
He stepped in the coal-scuttle up to his chin;
I sent him to the garden to pick some sage,
He tumbled down and fell in a rage;
I sent him to the cellar to draw a pot of beer,
He came up again and said there was none there.
the Oxford Dictionary of Nursery Rhymes
あの「ハバードおばさん」と「ぼくの可愛いメンドリちゃん」を
思い出させるライムです。
個人的に Blue Bell と very wellの韻がツボ。
もし犬を飼うなら、名前をブルーベルにしようかな・・
日本語訳ではどうしたって、原詩の持ち味を表現できないので
ぜひ英文で味わいたいライムの一つです・・(なら訳すな ^^;;;)